A Retelling of Harry Potter: There's a new sharrif
by The Fire Lily
Summary: OCs in this story, but still please read and review!


"Why mother?!" Katie shrieked as her fingers trembled, which had grabbed the end of her shirt. Her eyes were red from the tears and her body was shaking in anger and sadness that enveloped her at that moment. She couldn't leave her country, no matter how easy it seemed for the rest of the family. She loved the boarding school that she went to in sunny New Orleans, Louisiana and her home in Natchitoches, LA, but she and her family had to leave. And to Britain of all places! "I'm sorry honey, but we all have to go. It's for your father's benefit." Mrs. Freluex said, closing the bedroom door gently behind her. The 10 year old wept for hours, hugging her pillow as she grasped the news for the whole of the bright afternoon. She quickly wrote letters to her best friend back at her home, telling her the horrible news that she wouldn't be coming back next year before she went down to dinner, wiping her eyes before seating herself at the large dining room table. Her mother was scooping out helpings of vegetables and casserole for Katie and herself. She ate in silence, as did the rest of the family for only a moment. "Why do we have to move, mom?" Mrs. Freluex sighed heavily. "Sweetie, your father had gotten a new job as a new CEO there that paid so much money that we would all strongly benefit from it. Besides, there's a good school that you will get to go to and meet new friends." her mother said, looking to her husband for back up. "Yeah, yeah sure." he said, savoring the casserole that was on his plate. Katie just twirled the food around her plate, obviously not hungry. "When are we leaving then?" she asked, hoping that it would be in August or September in the latest. "Well, if we and our hired help start packing tomorrow, we'll probably leave by the middle of July." Mrs. Freluex said, looking at Katie with her famous small smile as she rose to clean her plate. "Now get off to bed, you have a full day ahead of you!" she said behind her. Katie just rose from the table and dumped her food in the trash can before trudging up to her luxurious bedroom that was decorated every which way with stuffed animals and books galore! This isn't going to be fun tomorrow, she thought miserably as she laid on her green queen sized bed.

She was obviously tired, so she dozed off on her bed and before she knew it, it was 6:30 in the morning. Yawning, Katie walked down the stairs for breakfast. She quickly picked an apple and looked into the refrigerator for some yogurt. Not finding anything, she shoved the door closed and walked slowly towards the basement and paused at the mirror that was near the entrance to the basement. What she saw wasn't the best: a head full of disheveled, black hair with her emerald eyes staring back gloomily. Her blue tee was wrinkled from how she slept the night before, and her skirt was wrinkled as well. Shaking her head, she continued to get the boxes and almost ran down the hallway to her room to start packing.

The family finished packing all of their things and had gotten passports for England by the end of the next week. Katie had already left the luxurious two story house that she used to call home and lifted her overnight backpack for the airplane trip to England and to their new house. The cool day felt good even in her hoodie as she stepped into the van that held her dad and of course their chauffer. "Is Mom ever going to finish?" Katie whispered, putting her backpack in front of her seat in irritation. "Can you wait for anything?" her dad snapped, almost glaring at her from the front seat. The chauffer turned on the van quickly as Mrs. Freluex scurried to the car. "Finally," she said, strapping in next to her daughter as they pulled out of the driveway "We get out onto the road, and the people in the U.K. finally accepted my visa and we'll be citizens soon enough." Her mother said, apparently explaining why she was caught up at the house.

"I never got to asking you, Mom, but where are we going be living exactly?" Katie asked, curiosity taking over the anger that she still had with her parents.

"Well, you may not be able to believe it, but we had gotten a home at one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in a town called Little Whinging." her father stated, turning around to smile at her. Katie was still confused, but she just rolled her eyes before looking out of the window until they reached the airport. It was a long time until their airplane leapt off the ground and headed for New York, where they would go to England afterwards. It was nightfall by the time the plane started flying over the Atlantic. The family was all talking and murmuring to themselves while a movie was going on in the front. But before Katie knew it, she dozed off without the complimentary pillow and blanket.

She suddenly awoke to the feeling of someone patting her shoulder. She looked up and around, but there was only a man that was walking to use the restroom while everyone else was asleep. She turned in her seat to go back to sleep when she felt something slide off of her lap and onto the seat. She looked at it and saw that it was an envelope, saying, "To Miss Freluex Seat 23b, The Eagle, at International Airlines". She curled up in her seat as she opened it, confused. It said:

_To Miss. Katie Elizabeth Storm,_

_I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep in touch with either you or the family in general. But you need to know something important. Nothing here is as what it seems: especially the adventure that you are about to embark. Your adopted parents haven't told you anything, so I won't say much to not sway the future too much. You American girls are so different from the English so you'll probably get noticed early on in the year, but don't worry too much. You are different in many ways, sure, but I know that you can deal with all that comes in your way. But be suspicious: because life's going to get complicated, especially with the magical mark on your hand. Finally, you may want to find out truly why you're coming to England, otherwise you'll end up being lost, or dead._

_Thank you,_

_Your father_

Katie froze at the last line, wondering what in the world she was to do now that she had been given information that she didn't know if it was true, or what it meant. She looked at her hand and remembered her birthmark, a scar in the shape of stormy waves. Why did the man call me by Storm, if that's not my last name? And why in the world is this person saying that he is my father? Questions buzzed around her head until she left her seat quietly to look for that man that was going to use the restroom earlier. For the rest of the evening and until dawn, she tried to find the man that had given her the letter. By the time she got back to her seat, her parents were picking up their things for landing. "Where were you honey? I haven't seen you in the past thirty minutes." her mom said, concern in her eyes. Katie said, "Just exploring." and then got buckled for landing, hiding the letter that held the information in her bag.

The line was even longer in London than the one in the United States. Customs was hard to get through, having to confirm the passports and visa before letting them through to the baggage claim. They had to get a rental car to Little Whinging, where she found out was in a county called Surry. The city of London was grimy like New York, but the countryside outside of London was wonderful and refreshing but cold compared to home. When they arrived at Little Whinging, it looked very small, smaller than Natchitoches for sure. They turned onto Privet Drive; the neighborhood that they were supposed to live was disappointing to her. All of the houses looked alike, so she knew that it was going to be hard to remember which house was going to be hers. She saw the house down the road, with two moving vans in a driveway. Despite the circumstances, she bounced in excitement and leapt out of the car to see which room would be hers. "Wait up sweetie." her mom said, pulling out of the car and walking to one of the movers, who was using the clipboard for something or other. Katie didn't wait and instead explored the bland house. She walked up the wooden stairs that led to the bedrooms. There were only three rooms, Ughh, she thought, but didn't care too much so she quickly came back down to help unpack.

It was mid-afternoon full of Katie sorting out the boxes and helping some into the house whenever her mother said, "Well, that's about it! Honey, if you want to you can go out and meet some of the neighbors since you have plenty of time before dinner. There may even be some of them your age." Katie wanted to decline, but something in her mind said that she should. So Katie quickly left to see the other houses, hoping to see other kids out and about. She walked down the street to almost the end of Privet Drive, until she saw a scrawny boy in the bushes. Curious, she walked towards him, and she thought that he tried to hide, but wasn't sure. "Hey." she said, smiling as she sat down on the lawn near the bushes. "I'm new here, my name's Katie. What's yours?" He didn't speak for a moment; his broken glasses making his green eyes seem larger. "I'm Harry." he said, giving her a small smile. "Are you American?" he asked then, crawling out of the bushes and onto the dried up lawn. "Yeah, I am. It's the accent isn't it?" Katie said, smiling in embarrassment. "Yeah, but it's not bad, not at all." he replied. "Why were you sitting out here on your own? Don't you have siblings or neighbors to hang out with?" Katie said, cocking her head slightly. In Louisiana, if you didn't have siblings, you found someone to play with in the summers in the neighborhood because there was hardly anything to do by yourself. "Yes, I have a brother named Dudley, but he's not much of a brother, even though he's my age. There are hardly any other kids here on Privet Drive, except for ones that make fun of me." Harry said, now picking at some of the blades of grass. "Why, because you wear glasses and you're skinny? I'm usually picked on because I'm small. Oh well, that's how some people are, the bullies. What school do you go to?" Katie asked, trying to learn everything so as to feel like she knows something when she gets to school. "This year I'm most likely going to Stonewall High. It sounds very boring, and it probably will be. Are you going to go to my school?" Harry asked, looking up at her and smiling with hope. "I hope so. I don't even know the schools here and all of that. I'm guessing that kids at your school aren't that nice to Americans, are they?" Katie responded, relaxing now that she met someone, even if it was a scrawny, shy kind of guy. He shook his head, and her heart sank. "At least you'll have one friend." Harry said, obviously implying himself. "Yeah and that definitely counts. So, what do you like doing?" Katie said, and they talked like this for almost an hour before a loud and booming voice shouted for him to come inside for dinner. "Well, I have to go. Uncle Vernon's not that happy I think." Harry stammered, walking towards the front door. "Then can I talk to you tomorrow?" Katie asked, quickly jumping up and brushing off grass from her shorts. "Maybe, depends on if I'm allowed outside tomorrow. Bye." Harry said, and disappeared. Katie walked slowly back to what she thought was her home and got lucky. Once she was through the front door, she heard her family talk in the dining room. She blushed and quickly got her helpings to eat her dinner. Dad finished first and stalked off to do business in the study. Katie finished last, still thinking about the future of not that much boredom for the summer. After she cleaned off her plate, she tried to finish unpacking. She was still tired from the jet lag, so she fell asleep pretty quickly on the just-made green bed.

The next day was about as exciting as the first. She looked up and down the street after unpacking some, and all she found was the lonely Harry, who she had taken a liking to. Who wouldn't like a brave, nice, resourceful guy who's a bit shy? They walked around and talked about random things, like her having to tell him about the Louisiana culture, and him talking about why England seemed so powerful but small all the same. They ended up at his lawn again, and that's about the way that the next week went, until they both got a letter.

She had gotten hers on a Monday morning, where it was addressed to Miss. Storm, Second floor bedroom, 7 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England. She opened it and it said that she was accepted to the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with a list of supplies. Thinking it as a hoax, she gave it to her mother. When her mother started reading it she dropped a plate that she was placing into a cabinet, shattering at the contact of the floor. "Oh, God. I was actually going to go get your uniform for Stonewall today too." she said, her fingers trembling as she read the document. "What Mom?" Katie asked, trying to see if her mom was seeing something that she wasn't seeing. "Well, this is very unexpected." her mother said, putting down the letter so as to sweep up the remaining pieces of the broken plate. "What?!" Katie said, now agitated that something was being kept from her. "Well, you should know the truth, since this is very unusual. First off . . . you were adopted when you were around four, and your original family name was Storm. That's why the letter addressed you by your old last name. Also, that family in specific was British and was I suppose a wizarding family since you are being accepted into this school." her mother explained, trembling as she spoke. Katie was speechless, but not as much as she would have been if she didn't have the first letter. So her real father is watching her, and Storm was her real last name. "If I go to this school..." Katie said, looking at the letter, "then how am I going to get the materials?" "From what I've heard in my years as a witch," she said, "there's a pub in London that is like a gateway to a street that has just that. Now honey, don't tell anyone of this, not even your siblings or your new friend, alright? Being a witch in your case is a secret business, and the only reason I know about this is because of your biological father that had to give you to me gave me a letter all about the subject. Unless you find that they have gotten a letter exactly like this one, then don't talk about any of this, okay?" her mother said, clutching Katie's arms lightly and then hugging her quickly. "Okay then." Katie said, excited even with all of this news. She decided to read the letter while walking to Harry's house, and maybe she'll ask him about the mail. When she didn't see him, she got concerned. Did he do something bad, she wondered, peeking into the window. She saw Harry and another boy looking at his Uncle and Aunt, who was observing a letter and glaring at poor Harry. She ducked, and then felt a horrible sadness for Harry as she looked back into the window. Harry was suddenly yelled at and shoved into the hallway along with the other boy. After a couple of minutes, she decided to knock on the door then 'to see if Harry was here', concern overwhelming her. She knocked the door twice, and a beet colored beefy man opened the door, and asked, "What do you want, girl?" "Um, I was... I was wondering if Harry was home. If he was then could we hang out together today?" she said, almost un-phased by the anger displayed by the man. "Who's Harry?" the man asked, recognizing what she meant but denying it just for the heck of it, she believed. "The boy has slightly unruly black hair and is skinny, he wears glasses and is pale. I believe he's your nephew." she said, smiling sweetly but inside she wanted to smack the mean smart ass right out of Mr. Vernon. "Oh, that's who you meant. He can't come at the moment. Try Wednesday." he said, and then slammed the door in my face. In my face! I don't know if that's accepted in England, but it's certainly not in America, so she stomped through his lawn, making dirt clumps rise on the grass and stalked back to my house. "Some neighbors are not the nicest people." Katie said angrily once she started walking upstairs to the bathroom so as to help Brittany unpack there. "You can say that again." Brittany replied, putting all of her hair products into two out of the three drawers. "Why, do you have an experience with rude neighbors?" Katie said, gathering her toothbrush and paste from a box and placing it into the medicine cabinet. "One of the boys, he's seventeen, and he seems like such a jerk like those guys from New York, but with a different accent and a different sense of humor." Brittany angrily said, sighing heavily as she put down her favorite pink bathroom rug onto the floor right in front of the toilet. "Yeah, one of the dads here is very unwelcoming. Do you know if slamming doors in your face is okay here or not?" Katie asked, looking into the mirror that compared her pale look to Brittany's tanned, black haired, beautiful look. "He did not do that to you?! Seriously?" Brittany asked, suddenly looking at her with astonished blue eyes. "Yeah, I was mad. But enough about me, how's unpacking going? Have you gotten all of the stuff out for personalization of your room so I could start?" Katie asked, smiling teasingly at her sister. Brittany just rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, just don't mess with the white dresser." Katie smiled as she then bounded down to her room to pull out a couple of her favorite stuffed animals to place at random parts of the room. Her style actually didn't clash with Brittany's as much as she thought, so she felt better about that. After a couple of hours of unpacking, Katie came over to David to ask what he wanted for lunch when she looked into his room. "That's cool looking, David." she said, noting the way he totally redid the color scheme to very mismatching colors. "What do you want for lunch, I'll split with you." she then said, walking with him downstairs and into the kitchen. "Just a bologna sandwich." he said, sitting on the only stool that had been assembled so far. She quickly pulled out bologna and bread and sliced them into triangles, giving one to David. She nibbled at the other half before retreating to her room. She looked out the window and out to the street, where all of the houses looked stereotypical to her. Why did mom have to pick this place though, she thought to herself as she waited for life to play itself out.


End file.
